sometimes pass the mirror test [ and so are treated as likely-moral-patients
I bet you can exploit it rather strongly. Like, create some mirror-test shrimp that does all other cognitive functions on the level of shrimp, but passes the mirror test every time. It’s not exactly something that evolution tended to optimize hard against, so maybe it’s fine to use on actual animals. But pain for example is, and it seems the motion to use something like mirror test instead of “does it feel things” is for coordination over better proxy? But if you start use proxy, there would be mirror-test shrimp incentives.
Well, here ya go. Apparently, the mirror-test shrimp are Myrmica ants.
The article is named Are Ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) capable of self recognition?, and the abstract could’ve been “Yes” if the authors were fond of brevity.
I remember hearing a claim that the mirror test success rate reported in this article is the highest among all animals ever tested, but this needs checking, can easily be false.
This is quite an extraordinary claim published in a terrible journal. I’m not sure how seriously I should take the results, but as far as I know nobody took them seriously enough to reproduce, which is a shame. I might do it one day.
I bet you can exploit it rather strongly. Like, create some mirror-test shrimp that does all other cognitive functions on the level of shrimp, but passes the mirror test every time. It’s not exactly something that evolution tended to optimize hard against, so maybe it’s fine to use on actual animals. But pain for example is, and it seems the motion to use something like mirror test instead of “does it feel things” is for coordination over better proxy? But if you start use proxy, there would be mirror-test shrimp incentives.
Well, here ya go. Apparently, the mirror-test shrimp are Myrmica ants.
The article is named Are Ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) capable of self recognition?, and the abstract could’ve been “Yes” if the authors were fond of brevity.
(Link: https://www.journalofscience.net/html/MjY4a2FsYWk=, link to a pdf: https://www.journalofscience.net/downnloadrequest/MjY2a2FsYWk=.)
I remember hearing a claim that the mirror test success rate reported in this article is the highest among all animals ever tested, but this needs checking, can easily be false.
This is quite an extraordinary claim published in a terrible journal. I’m not sure how seriously I should take the results, but as far as I know nobody took them seriously enough to reproduce, which is a shame. I might do it one day.